John Holmes's blog

The USGA and R&A&'s ban on anchored putting strokes has certainly garnered its share of attention for the past few months. But this whole time, I've been wondering exactly how many players would be affected.

Remember earlier this month, when PGA Tour player James Hahn played a prank on his buddy, Nate Smith?

Smith Monday-qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship, and Odyssey Golf flew in a brand-new bag for him. Hahn got hold of the bag first, though, and hung a sign on it in the Quail Hollow locker room asking other players to sign the bag "for charity auction."

More than 60 PGA Tour players dutifully signed it. And Smith, having no other choice, played the Wells Fargo with the uniquely decorated bag -- to the chuckles of his buddy, Hahn.

PGA Tour player Tim Clark says "a fair number" of players, including him, are getting legal advice over the ban on anchored putting strokes.

"We do have legal counsel,” said Clark at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. "We're going to explore our options. We're not going to just roll over and accept this."

Anytime the women's golf teams from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State find themselves in the same place, the competition gets pretty heated. That even includes the NCAA Division I finals in Athens, Ga., where both teams are playing this week.

This week, however, the rivalry is muted – and both squads are pulling together to play their best for their home state, which is reeling in the wake of the deadly tornado that struck Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, on Monday.

Players at the highest level of golf often try out special pieces of equipment in advance of specific tournaments. Jason Day used the HP Byron Nelson Championship to test-drive a 1-iron to see if he might want to use it at the British Open.

That's right, a 1-iron.

So after the Byron Nelson finished up Saturday evening, I was flipping channels and stopped when I got to the shootout for the pole at the Indianapolis 500.

What caught my eye? The graphic that showed Ed Carpenter on top with just a few minutes to go in the final qualifying session. 

And what's so special about Carpenter? As you can see in the photo above, his car is sponsored by Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka – which, of course, is owned by Fuzzy Zoeller.

College golf is flying a bit under the radar right now, but this week has been one for the record books.

Earlier today, Lynn University rallied to overtake its Sunshine State Conference archrival Nova Southeastern and win the women's NCAA Division II title for the first time since 1997.